Name: Joi Irving, M.D.
Position/Where:
Internal medicine physician at Mercy Clinic in Union, Missouri
Career Highlights:
Internal medicine physician in primary care
American Board of Internal Medicine (Board Eligible- Exam August 2014)
Awards:
Say Yes to Children Award, Continental Society, 2009
Laudable Achievement in Ambulatory Medicine; Morehouse School of Medicine, Class Day, May 2008
Honors in Community Health, Morehouse School of Medicine, May 2006
Alpha Kappa Mu Honor Society, Xavier University of Louisiana Chapter, 2003
Alpha Epsilon Delta Honor Society, Xavier University of Louisiana Chapter, 2002
Continental Society National Scholarship Winner 2000-2004
Education:
Medical School
Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta
Residency:
St. Louis University School of Medicine
Personal:
A member of Greater Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church
A member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Zeta Sigma Chapter
St. Louis Connection:
I am originally from St. Louis. I went to Gateway Institute of Technology and graduated in 2000.
Journey to success:
I have wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can remember. I remember visiting my pediatrician, Dr. Mary Tillman, and her allowing me to listen to my heart with her stethoscope. This simple act sparked a desire that stayed with me from her office throughout my studies and is still present to this very day. I see my position as a physician as a vocation more than simply being a career choice. As a child and young adult, I remember imagining myself doing what I thought a doctor did and experiencing a sense of fulfillment and purpose.
Both my natural and my church families were extremely supportive of me and continue to be. My mother was consistent in her choice of black female pediatricians because she wanted me to see people that looked like me doing what she knew I wanted to do with my life. I have had obstacles, as everyone else has, in obtaining my goal. I had to sacrifice time, experiences, and even some unfruitful relationships at times in order to secure my future.
I have a passion for serving the underserved. This was something that was already placed in me by God, but was further developed by my training at Morehouse. Morehouse has the National Center for Primary Care and our professors helped us to further develop the skills required for caring for underserved communities through both urban and rural health courses.
